My Precious Imouto
by sKyLaR KnIgHt
Summary: Itachi is wandering around Karakura town as a spirit when he sees a girl that has the looks of an Uchiha. After saving her, he refuses to return her and this causes the soul society and Ichigo to go in a panic. Soul Society vs. Akatsuki who will prevail?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I had to make this, I'm sorry, it's been stuck in my head for a while, and if I don't put it out there, I'll go insane! Please enjoi and review! ^~^

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach.

-My Precious Imouto/one-

Being dead was boring, he decided, especially when he was tied down to a place that was inhabited entirely of civilians. They were everywhere here, no matter how far he floated off, north, south, east, or west, they were there. No shinobi to speak of no matter how hard he searched.

Uchiha Itachi was really getting frustrated, something that was almost out of character for him. So Sasuke had killed him about two months ago and he has yet to enter either a heaven or hell. He knew that there was no way that this place could be either of those because none of the creatures here were able to see him. No, he was a ghost and he was confined to a place where it was normal for females to have premarital intercourse and where men could live with their parents until they were twice his age. This really wasn't his 'scene' as many of the teens his otouto's age said. How he hated this place known as 'Japan'!

"Oi Itachi! Look over there at those civilians un! Heh, heh. They seem to be having fun~." Deidara said from his spot off to the side of the building that he and two others stood.

Another thing that frustrated him. He was stuck with Kisame, Deidara, and Sasori from his past life. Kisame and even Sasori were tolerable at times, but he couldn't stand having the blonde constantly surrounding him. Even in life they had time away from each other, but here, his old acquaintances wanted to keep together so they would go to whichever realm together.

"Deidara, keep your thoughts to yourself." Sasori commanded his old partner as he stared down at the bustling city with a blank expression.

It was then that he felt something. A small tingling feeling in the back of his self-conscious. There was something off about this town that they had just came to… Itachi climbed to his feet and blinked a couple of times. Was it just his failing eyesight, or was there really a large creature in the distance with a white mask covering its face?

Without a word to his former teammates, he made his way towards the large being with adamant curiosity. He hadn't seen such a creature in any other region or village in 'Japan'. He came up close to it, cloaking his chakra just in case. He had no idea what kind of powers such a beast held. Now that he was closer, his nose quivered in disgust. Such an awful scent; worse than decaying flesh…

-Break-

Kurosaki Karin's eyebrow twitched as she made her way towards the vast amount of spiritual pressure. She could tell that it was a hollow just by the energy, and one thing was for sure: she was pissed. She was right in the middle of a soccer game against Tachibana Daisuke, her number one rival at her school! It had taken her _months_ to convince him that she was good enough to take him on, and now that her chance had finally come, Kurakara town needed her protection against a freaking hollow!

"Kurosaki!"

She glanced over to the side and saw a red headed teen with incredibly messy hair and a scowl on his face running towards her with a steel baseball bat over one shoulder. She smirked. "Hanakari… Finally decided that your vacation was over and that you had to help out with this shit, ne?"

His scowl deepened as he flanked her and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Ururu and I were out training with Tessai-san in the north. There are other places in need of hollow killers, you know…"

"Whatever, let's just kill this thing and get home. Yuzu is making miso soup."

An obvious blush covered the boy's matured face. "…C-can I come over tonight? It's been awhile since I've seen Yuzu-hime's angelic face…"

"And just what does that make me, a demon?" She snorted.

"Jealousy is very unbecoming, Kurosaki." He responded with a grin. This was the way that they were. They didn't mean anything by their small fights; in fact, they were probably considered best friends. Jinta liked her twin and she was really okay with it, but she would tease him about it just like now.

"So, are you going to ride up on a white horse?"

"Eh?"

"You said that she was a 'hime', so you must be her gallant knight! Where's your horse?"

His tanned skin flushed once again. "Just shut it."

-Break-

"Kurosaki, just get out of the way!" a voice from below caught his attention. He glanced down to see two teens his otouto's age standing at the base of the massive beast, arguing. One was a male who had incredibly messy flaming crimson hair with a simple pair of loose ebony pants and ivory shirt who held in his hands what was known as a 'baseball bat' in this place; his assessing eyes shifted to the girl and narrowed as he studied her… She had the looks of an Uchiha. She wore a pair of short black shorts that showed off legs of an athlete, a black tank top with the words 'death or glory' written in blood red. She had a red 'baseball cap' and had her long, silky looking midnight black tresses pulled back into a loose, messy ponytail. She currently had a scowl on her attractive face and held a 'soccer ball' loosely beneath one arm.

"Shut your mouth Hanakari, I told you that I can handle it myself!" Itachi sensed a sudden spike in the girl's chakra levels and noticed how the large creature angled its body towards her and the boy. He too took an instinctual step forward, as if to move to her defense, but caught himself, frowning. What was he doing? Why risk himself for someone he didn't know? Preposterous!

All of a sudden, the thing's large talon-like fingers were diving towards the redhead, who was still too busy to notice it coming for him, however, the female was not. She foolishly dove in front of the boy, ready to take the crippling blow for herself

_That baka!_ Itachi dove forward, his jaw clenched tightly. _Is she looking to get herself killed?_

"KARIN!" The redhead's eyes widened in horror as he moved forward to pull her out of the way, but he was too late.

"Baka." A flash of black and red dazed him briefly and he heard a loud Clink! 

Two figures were thrown back and shoved into a wall, Karin losing conscious as soon as she made contact; however, there was a massive amount of spiritual pressure coming from the hole that she was in.

Jinta's eyes widened. "K-Karin!" He dashed towards the hole, only to be stunned to the ground. He was frozen! His shaky eyes rose to see a young man in the mouth of the hole, Karin draped over his shoulder as if she weighed nothing. His empty ebony hues were locked on the creature and his lips were pulled down at their corners.

"… Youkai… You have wandered into the wrong path this night. Your strength is great and I will honor you with a quick death." The man lifted a hand and all of a sudden, the hollow's blood was spilling everywhere and its head toppled to the ground.

"…O-oi…" Jinta made his voice loud enough for the spirit to hear him. "A-are you from the soul society?"

"Soul society? Is that what they call heaven here? Hn…" He turned and was about to leave, once again pausing at the boy's shout.

"Where are you taking Karin?"

"…It doesn't concern you child." Was all he said before seemingly disappearing into thin air, taking his best friend with him.

"K-K-KARIN!"

-Break-

"Hey Itachi un! What have you got there?" Deidara was suddenly at his side and lifted the teen known as Karin's chin up to inspect her. "Ooh!" He giggled. "She is quite the beauty… Who is she?"

"She is my imouto." He responded, his Sharigan blazing. The look he gave his fellow Akatsuki members was a one that clearly said 'challenge me and die'.

Sasori merely nodded. He didn't care if Itachi had become attached to a human. As long as they stuck together, he couldn't care less. Kisame studied the girl and muttered "What a pain," but didn't protest and Deidara was bouncing with joy, literally.

Kurosaki Karin, welcome to the Akatsuki family.

-One/End-

A/N: So yeah… Please review and let me know if I should continue this fic! ^~^ Thanx for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: thanx for the reviews! Here's the next chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach.

-My Precious Imouto/Two-

"Kisuke-san! Tessai-san!" Jinta strode into the small shop, his eyes and hair wild. When his eyes landed on them, he immediately made his way to them and dropped his heavy metallic bat. "Something bad happened!"

Both elder men looked up blankly at the redheaded teen. "What is it Jinta-kun?" Urahara asked with a raised eyebrow. Something seemed to be wrong for him to burst into the shop in such a manner. He knew that Tessai would have his head for being so rude, yet he did it just to get to them faster… It had to be urgent.

"K-Karin! Some kind of spirit took her!" He reached up a shaky hand to push his fiery hair out of his face. "His spiritual pressure was like none that I've ever felt! I couldn't even move! And his eyes… They were so cold…"

The blonde man climbed to his feet with a pinched brow and a frown on his face. "What did he look like? Are you sure that it wasn't an arrancar..?"

"Iie!" He shook his head rapidly. "He was a spirit, he had a small hole in his chest, but his chain was abnormally long, and he was wearing a black cloak with red clouds on it… He must be apart of some other kind of organization!"

"Tessai, get a hold of Youroichi (sp?) And inform her of what has happened. Kurosaki Karin has been kidnapped by an unidentified enemy or maybe an organization." He placed his white and green striped hat and placed it on his head, a grim expression. "Well, we better get looking now Ururu-chan and Jinta-kun. With Ichigo-kun's imouto missing, there's not a soul in this world or the soul society that won't know that he's going to do anything to find her."

Jinta remained planted there at the doorway, his frown growing deeper while Ururu stood and picked up her weapon in the corner of the room with a calm expression on her face. The elder teen stopped next to him and briefly examined him. "What is wrong Jinta-kun?"

"Yuzu-hime… How the hell am I going to tell her about this? How do I tell her that I did nothing to stop an incredibly strong soul from taking her onee-chan?" He clenched his fists at his sides. "I'm a coward."

"…I'm sure that you would've done something had you been able to move Jinta-kun." She gently patted his shoulder, "and I will come with you to tell Yuzu-chan about Karin-kun."

He glanced up to his 'onee-san' and smiled gratefully. "Arigato."

-Break-

He stared at her still form for a long time, trying to figure out what moved him earlier to come to her rescue. Sure, she looked like the people of his clan, but she was reckless from what he had gathered, and with reckless people came burdens, burdens he didn't need or want. Yet he couldn't seem to bring himself to return her. He had seen the redheaded male from before running around aimlessly with a girl who seemed closer to his own age, yelling out this female's name. So he had the chance and didn't take it. He didn't know what was stopping him and it was beginning to bother him.

"Itachi. Get a load of this, more people are searching for her now." Kisame's low chuckle brought the Uchiha out of his thoughts and drew his gaze away from the teen to over the edge of the building.

There was two more people calling out for his 'imouto'. He moved to join his old teammates at the end of the building where they stood. He studied the two of them. _Her otou-san and…imouto?_ He thought, studying their chakra signatures. Both were weaker than the girl's, the father's by just a little and the sister's by an exponential amount.

"Hn. They are nothing to bother yourselves with."

"We should move buildings." Sasori said aloud. "That boy looking for her earlier had chakra that was higher, as well as that brunette female that was helping. They may return with people stronger than themselves."

Itachi remained silent for several moments, but he wouldn't argue. One could never be too careful, so he moved over to his 'imouto' and scooped her up in his arms, turning to catch up with the rest of his already moving group. What he didn't fail to notice was that when he held her in his arms, the girl's hands tightened on his cloak and she whispered. "Ichi-nii…"

_Hm… A neglecting aniki… I can use this to my advantage should she decide to struggle later. _His hold tightened ever so slightly as he leapt over several large contraptions, his mind formulating plans to keep his imouto safe with him.

-Break-

"Hmph. Is that all you've got Ichi-balls?" Renji asked with a smirk (A/N: LOL that's what my cousin calls Ichigo! XD) as he took a confidant step forward. They were sparring using hand to hand combat, something that they didn't indulge much in the soul society, but they both liked. Ichigo was currently leaning against a large rock, struggling to catch his breath.

The orange haired man scowled and pushed himself up. "Call me that again and I'll neuter you!"

The redhead merely shrugged, his smirk growing wider. "Really now? How are you going to do that if you're flat out on your back from my attacks? Honestly, they should've made me the taicho. I've got much more skills than you ever will!"

"Shut up. I had to fight off all of Kempachi-teme's squad members including himself before we decided to do this. Let's see you do that if you're so tough!"

"Easy!" Renji flashed in front of the other male, his hand clenched into a fist, ready to strike.

Ichigo flash-stepped around and smirked as he caught his fiery haired friend off guard, moving in swiftly and swept his legs out from under him. The fugutaicho (sp?) went down quickly with a look of utter shock written across his features. "Heh. And that is why I was made the taicho and not you Renji!" He held out his hand to help him up. "I'm just too amazing to lose to someone like-?"

"Fell for something so obvious?" Renji yanked on Ichigo's hand and kicked him in his stomach, sending him catapulting over his shoulder.

"Kurosaki-taicho!" several lower members of his squad appeared out of nowhere and began dashing towards him as if the devil was right on their tails.

The two upper leveled shinigami turned to address the man and woman, but paused at their worried expressions. "What is it Takahashi? Satsuma?"

The man stepped forward and whispered something inaudible into Ichigo's ear, stepping back swiftly afterwards and giving him a cautious look.

Renji took in his best friends blank expression, wondering what had happened when all of a sudden a loud, deafening cry filled with anger and promise of retribution exploded from his mouth.

Before he could even blink, the carrot top was already half way down the field, headed back towards the sereitei (sp?).

"Ichigo!" He sprinted off after him as fast as possible, studying him when they were running side by side. "What happened?"

The look that he was given was incredibly cold. The coldest look he's ever received from the tough but friendly man. "Some crazy spirit has taken Karin-chan… And he was packing a lot of power. She's been missing for a little more than a day." He growled. "Whoever this guy thinks he is, he's going to be in a world of hurt when I get to him!"

-Break-

"Ugh…" Karin groaned as she twitched on her side. Why was her bed so hard? It was firm, yet warm and somehow comforting. Not like her bed usually felt…

"Ooh! Looks like the Uchiha-hime is waking up finally, un!" a man giggled.

The sound of the unknown voice made her eyes snap open, a glare already on her face. "Alright, who the hell..?" Her voice trailed off as her dark orbs widened at the sight of three men—_Iie, spirits_. She realized. They all had on black cloaks with red clouds. She studied the first, he had long blonde hair held up partly with a high ponytail, looking very much like a female; and then to the next, he had short red hair, his hair a shade or two lighter than Jinta's with a bored expression on his face. Her eyes flicked to the last, her eyes widening as far as was possible. "Holy Crap! Fish boy!" She sat back as far as she could.

There was a low chuckle behind her and she half turned, paling when she noticed that she was sitting on a male. He was gorgeous, he had long ebony hair that was tied back in a low ponytail, his eyes were the same shade of black as her own, but unlike herself, he was semi-pale while she was more of a golden shade from all of her soccer training. "H-How in the hell did I end up with you freaks?" Karin attempted to jump from the man's grip, but it tightened around her considerably, making escape near impossible.

"Hmph. She's a rude one Itachi." Fish man said with a small vein appearing on his forehead. "Are you sure that you want to keep her?"

"Hai. She amuses me." The handsome young man replied, though his face and eyes didn't hint at any of the amusement that he spoke of.

"Oi! I asked you a question! Who the hell are you all and why am I with you now instead of at home?" She struggled against the guy's hold and somehow managed to turn herself around so that they were face to face.

He blinked at her calmly and didn't seem in the slightest startled in her sudden change in positions. "I am Uchiha Itachi. You are with us right now because I saved your life just last night from that strange Youkai being that was attacking you and your friend."

Her eyes widened. "Jinta! What happened to him?"

"He is safe. I disposed of the Youkai immediately after he attacked you."

"…Why didn't you just leave me with him then?" She breathed, a scowl attached to her face. _This spirit is obviously a lunatic._

"You remind me of my family. Especially my otouto. I miss him dearly." His voice didn't give any sign that he was sad, but in his eyes, she could see it. "All of my people look similar to you and I. I'm afraid that I just couldn't help myself."

"…" _He misses his otouto and I miss my oniisan… We're alike._ She suddenly shook her head. _Karin! You are a baka! He's just trying to make you sympathize with him so that you won't struggle!_

"When you were asleep, you whispered about your aniki. Do you think that he's missing you right now?"

She frowned suddenly and averted her eyes. _Ichi-nii…_ "Iie… I don't even think that he remembers us. I haven't seen him in years."

"Ah. How unfortunate…" Itachi glanced over her head to where Kisame and Deidara were grinning widely at his sugary tones. He couldn't even believe it himself. "I really miss my otouto… And it seems that you miss your aniki… How about you and I… 'hang out'? You will give me the peace that I need to move on, and you'll once again have someone to call oniisan… How about it Karin-chan? Will you help this poor soul find peace?"

She looked unsure for a few brief moments, going over everything in her head. _Yuzu-chan won't miss me. She has all those friends of hers…Tou-san will be too busy to notice…And Ichi-nii won't even know that I'm gone... and it __**is**__ helping a soul find peace, ne? _She felt herself nodding to the young man's insane request, but really, who would it hurt? "…alright…Itachi-nii."

-Two/End-

A/N: Thanx for reading! Please review! Oh; and please include your opinions on what pairings should be in this fic, or even if you don't want any romance in it please just give me your opinions on that.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thanx to **WraithReaper, Mitzzi, MagykjayEmmax, **and **AppleL0V3R **for reviewing, it's only because of the four of you that I decided to update! Here's the next chapter! Please Enjoi

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach.

0—My Precious Imouto/Three—0

She lifted a thin brow with thinly veiled disbelief as she watched the blonde's hands stick their tongues out at her. "What the hell is up with your hands? What was your job when you were still alive? A circus performer?" Her hands were currently stuffed in her pockets as she sat up against the edge of a tall skyscraper. Her 'aniki' and fish boy went off for some unknown reason and left the redhead and blonde to watch over her as if she were still a child. _Probably making sure that I don't run off on him._ She thought to herself with a scowl. She was Kurosaki Karin! If she said that she would do something, by golly, she would!

"Ha, ha. Iie. I was a member of the-." Deidara's explanation was cut short by a hand slapping over his mouth; that hand belonging to none other than Sasori.

"That is something that Uchiha-hime doesn't need to know about, baka." He reminded in warning tones. "What happened then and now have no relevance."

"Give it a rest, Sasori-san." She crossed one leg over the other in a man-like manner. "It doesn't take a genius to see that the four of you belonged to some secret organization in your past life. I mean, it's pretty obvious. If you didn't want people to know about it, you should probably think about not walking around while having a uniform on to go with it, ne? And about all this 'Uchiha-hime' crap… My name is Kurosaki Karin. I don't care which one of my names you use; just stop calling me something I am so obviously not."

The redheaded ex-Suna Nin studied the mortal with a calculating stare. _Not only is she intelligent…_

_ She's brave._ Deidara smirked and glanced over at the other male. _This should be fun, un!_ "Well then Karin-chan, since we're all becoming comfortable with ourselves, you may call me Deidara-'kun'."

"No way old man." She sighed. This guy was a serious creeper. She couldn't wait until Itachi and fish boy got back…

0—Break—0

"I don't have much patience left, Rukia! All I know is that if Yamamoto-taicho doesn't allow me to go, I'll start thinking about getting away by any means necessary, even if I have to fight some of my own comrades!" Ichigo paced the entire length of the room and kept twitching at every sound that registered to his sharp ears. "She is my _imouto_ I can't just sit around and let an insane spirit parade around with her!"

"I said nothing. In fact, Ichigo, I have to say that I agree with you. She is of blood relation; that isn't too common here in the soul society, so that makes her all the more precious." Rukia's arms were crossed over her chest as she leaned casually against a nearby wall. "I will help you if it comes to that though. Karin-chan is a good girl; she shouldn't be subjected to what she's going through.

"Same here man, I'd help. I can't say that I know her that well, but I'm sure that if she's a Kurosaki, she's worth saving." Renji grinned at the orange haired taicho, flashing him a thumb up.

He stared at them for a few brief moments before a wary smile stretched a tad bit unwillingly across his lips. "Arigato. I know that I can't handle this alone."

"You say that as if they're the only one's who would be willing to help." Madarame Ikkaku and Ayasegawa Yumichika strutted into the room, both men having eager smirks on their faces. "You know Ichigo, you never were too bright. Don't you know that almost half of the soul society is prepared to aid you in any way they can?"

Ichigo blinked a couple of times before sighing as he sunk into a chair, relaxing visibly. He was exhausted…

"Go ahead and sleep Ichigo." Renji said, his hands sliding into his pockets. "We'll wake you up if and when we get the news."

Suddenly, as if the words were a trigger, he felt his eyelids grow heavy. "B-But Karin…"

"Will still be missing even if you were awake." Rukia supplied. "You won't be any use to her if you can't even keep your eyes open if we have to fight. Rest up and conserve strength now, baka."

He felt a hand stroke through his hair, the effect coming off as soothing. Without any strength in his will anymore, he gave into the dark abyss of sleep.

0—Break—0

"What are you doing?" Itachi's voice caused Deidara to jump a bit, his sudden presence startling to say the least.

The blonde quickly composed himself and straightened his back in an almost defiant manner. "I'm not doing anything that warrants your attention, Itachi."

"On the contrary," The Uchiha's voice dropped an octave. "If there is one thing that I know best, it's that _you alone_ cannot be trusted with such an important task." His crimson hues flicked over the unconscious body of Karin, noting that she wasn't exactly in what he would deem a comfortable position. Her elbow was twisted at an awkward angle, her legs were in opposite directions, and her spine was curled in a callow position. "Why is she knocked out, and where is Sasori?"

"She is knocked out because Sasori no danna was interested in one of those humans who were searching for Uchiha-hime. The girl had what appeared to be a stuffed animal, but he swore that he saw it move. He went to see if he could figure out which jutsu she was using." He concluded with a yawn.

"And my other question?"

"Oh. Well, we decided that it would be best if she were to take a nap in his absence. We all know that I have the least patience out of us all. I probably would've ended up blowing her a-." His voice was cut off by the sudden spike of chakra that surrounded Itachi's being.

"You will not do such a thing for as long as you live, Deidara. I tolerate you because Sasori is fond of you, if he had no such feelings, you would be deceased long ago." His Sharigan eyes locked onto the lone azure one of his comrade. "Are we clear on that?"

"Un." Deidara glared at the Uchiha's back as he turned away to once again inspect his 'imouto'. _Hmph. We may be dead Itachi, but I will one day repay this extremely rude behavior with violence._ "Where is Kisame?" He asked, trying to break the mounting tension between him and the other male.

"He is coming along soon. He wanted to see if fish from this world tastes the same from ours." Itachi kneeled next to Karin, his large pale hand grazing her cheeks lightly before he stood straight. "You will not knock her out again." He said.

"Un." He barely managed to keep himself from rolling his eyes. _Who does he think he is, giving _me_ orders?_

"Ah. You've returned quicker than I'd anticipated." Sasori appeared next to the blonde, his face schooled in his ever-present callous expression. "We knocked your woman out for fear of Deidara slaying her in my absence."

"He's mentioned as much." Itachi's eyes rose and met the redhead's, the warning clear in his depths. The puppet master was no fool. He didn't need to be told aloud what the brunette was thinking.

"We should move along soon. I'm afraid that I wasn't able to gather any sign of the jutsu that the child was using for her doll, but I know that it saw me." Sasori's eyes twitched. "I miscalculated. I knew that mere mortals couldn't see me, and I assumed that it would be the same for this particular group. Their chakra levels weren't as strong as the male and female from before, so I thought that they would be too weak to see me." He scowled at the thought of underestimating an opponent. He didn't like the idea of eventually losing his skills.

As if reading his thoughts, Itachi spoke up. "We are in need of training."

Deidara's head shot up in interest. He hasn't trained in _months_! "Where do you suggest?" He watched as his former partner and the Uchiha stared into each other's eyes silently in that irritating way of theirs. Before he knew it, Sasori was nodding and walking off towards the edge of the building.

"Come Deidara. We're going to scout out places for us to train without interference."

"Hai Sasori no danna!" The blonde was suddenly next to the male, a wide grin on his face. As long as he could get away from the high and mighty Uchiha, he'd be good with **any** kind of task.

0—Break—0

_Damn…Why does my head hurt so much…DEIDARA AND SASORI!_ Karin's head shot up from the firm pillow and she released a small cry in anger. "Those assholes!"

"Such talk from a woman seems to be an everyday occurrence in your world, imouto." A voice sounded in her ears, followed immediately by a deep chuckle. "I think that I should have a nice long talk about that small habit of yours."

"?" Karin tilted her head back to see the faint outline of Itachi's nose. He was behind her. "Gah?" She scrambled away with a scowl adorning her features. "Why is it that every time I wake up, you're always at my back?"

The man who appeared to be five years older than her allowed a wisp of a smirk to fly up to his lips. "Would you rather wake to Kisame at your back?"

Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped; horror visible on her features. "Fish boy? Hell no!"

"Hmph. You aren't exactly every man's dream either." The scoffing voice that sounded somewhere not too far from her caused her to flinch. "And stop calling me Fish Boy! I have a name and you should remember it: I am Kisame!" His unusual eyes flicked to the side to examine her horrified expression—what the hell? She was ignoring him now? Who did she think she was? "Listen brat, you can't hide behind Itachi forever! I'd kill you now if it weren't for him!"

She flashed him a deadpan look, a thin brow raised high. "If it weren't for him, I'd be dead anyways. He saved me from a hollow attack, remember? So I'd be dead before you could even meet me."

"Hmph." He angled his head away from the smug human. "Itachi, you'd better get a hold of your 'imouto' before someone decides to slice her up."

A smirk found its way to Itachi. "Really now? I recall that all she's doing is stating facts. Nothing is out of the ordinary here."

_Damn that girl!_ Kisame rolled his eyes and bit the inside of his cheek to keep his roaring instincts on hold. It was incredibly strong, the need to kill the girl who had caught Itachi's attention so effortlessly. It was because of her that they were bickering amongst themselves, it was her fault that they weren't moving along anymore, staying in this city merely because she refused to go otherwise. _This girl is troublesome indeed._

0—Break—0

"I had no luck today." Jinta sighed and slid a shaky hand through his hair which was in disarray from all the running around that he's been doing lately. He lowered his head with shame. "Gomen Yuzu-chan."

Warm eyes softened ever-so-slightly as his head lowered, and she reached out, her pale hands running through his hair. "For the last time Jinta-kun, I don't put the blame on you. The situation wasn't in your control. As it seems, a lonely soul out there has Karin-nee. We have to get her back, but she's strong. She will be able to take care of herself until we can find her." She giggled. "It's funny to see you so worried over her. The two of you are usually at each others throats."

"Well, uh…" He straightened and scratched the back of his head, blushing a bit at the sound of her cute laugh. "We are kind of like best friends and rivals at the same time. I can't lose to her because she's a girl and all…You get it, ne? But we talk to each other when we aren't fighting and find that we actually have a lot in common. Karin's a cool girl, Yuzu-chan."

"OH~!" Yuzu's cheeks lit up in a similar blush and she began to squeal. "You have a **crush **on _Karin_?"

His mouth dropped open. Was she serious? Wasn't she able to tell after all these years? "How do you-." He was going to say 'how did you come to that conclusion' but she instantly cut him off, thinking he was going to say 'how did you know'.

"I can't believe that I didn't notice before! The two of you were always running off together to play when we were younger! How exciting!" She grabbed hold of Jinta and pulled him into tight embrace. "Now we'll be brother and sister, Jinta-kun! Right after you and Karin-nee get married!"

The redhead wasn't sure if he should be crying or leaping for joy. The girl he's liked forever is finally hugging him—the problem was that she now thought he liked her sister. He sighed. Romance just wasn't his thing.

0—Three/End—0

A/N: Thanx for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thanx to **WraithReaper, Ceri Dragonelle, GenoBeast, shinigamiConnections, **and **Starkraven Madd **for reviewing. I was just scrolling through my stories when I noticed that I haven't updated for a couple of months! So Sorry! Well, here's the next chapter, please read and enjoi!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach.

0—My Precious Imouto/Four—0

_It's the same._ Sasori thought with slight disappointment before sliding the thin noodles past his lips and into his awaiting mouth.

"Whoa, I had thought that ramen would taste a little different than it does from our world, but it tastes exactly the same!" Deidara exclaimed, voicing the redhead's thoughts aloud.

"The sushi from here is spicier than it tasted back home." Kisame commented, lifting his cup to his mouth and taking a sip of the tea that they were able to secure.

"Oi, give me a piece!" The blonde exclaimed, stretching out to snatch up a piece, only for the shark-like male to dodge, holding his plate high above his head as one does to children. "Teme! Don't keep it all for yourself!" He lashed out with his fists, barely missing the blue-tinted male as he shifted to the side with a mere side-step.

"Come on, Deidara! That cannot be your best!" Kisame egged him on with his toothy smirk, earning him a fierce growl and more violent attempts from the youngest member in the Akatsuki.

"This is surprisingly immature." Karin stated dryly from her seat off to the side next to Itachi, plucking up one of his dango sticks and eating one out of the three as her eyes locked onto the action scene before her with a blank expression.

"Hai." Itachi chewed the sweet food with much vigor, savoring the flavor that he has been without for what seemed to be years upon years. His own eyes were locked onto the streets over the edge of the buildings, where he spotted the same people who were out looking for Karin the past few days. _A tenacious group of people._ He thought, noting that they had increased in number. Now aside from her family and those two children with higher spiritual pressure, there was a female who appeared to be his age with long hair and a curvaceous body, a massive dark skinned male with curly brown hair, and a lean yet tall male who had straight black hair and glasses.

He paid extra attention to the newcomers because they seemed to have an air of intelligence around them that the other four lacked, and he could've sworn that the male with glasses had glanced towards the building that they were resting on. Then again, it could have been a mere misinterpretation; after all, his eyesight wasn't as sharp as it used to be due to his previous continual use of the Tsukiyume and Mangekyo Sharigan. But it's better to be sure now rather than sorry later.

His onyx hues flicked towards his teammates, catching their attention by flicking his Sharigan on. They stilled in their actions, and before Karin knew what was going on, she was in his arms and the scenery around them was blurring at an incredibly fast rate, her hair flying around her crazily.

"Itachi?" She questioned the elder male, only to be met by an emotionless mask and silence. She wouldn't be receiving any answers from this male anytime soon.

0—Break—0

"Dammit." Ishida Uryu blinked a couple of times as if that would help the fact that Karin and the spirit who was wearing a black cloak with red clouds on it had just disappeared when he blinked. "He's just so fast." He turned when he felt a small hand come down on his arm, his eyes meeting that of wide, concerned eyes.

"Are you alright, Ishida-kun?" Inoue Orihime asked, her eyes following his line of sight to the empty rooftops overhead. "You just started running in this direction all of a sudden…"

"I sensed a pair of powerful spiritual pressures, and when I looked up here, I saw Karin-chan sitting on the edge of the rooftops with a man wearing a black cloak with red clouds. It wasn't either of their spiritual pressures, meaning that this 'crazy' soul isn't alone in his 'kidnapping' of Kurosaki's sister."

"Why did you say crazy and kidnapping like that, Uryu?" Sado Yasutora, or Chad, asked as he approached his peers.

The Ishida placed a pale hand on his chin as he contemplated everything that he just saw. "Well, first off, Karin-chan didn't look at all that worried, or even scared for that matter, nor was she angry or hostile, feelings that she would under normal circumstances. The male next to her didn't have anything to keep her from moving around freely, nor did I detect any ill will…Are we even entirely sure that she has been kidnapped and that this isn't just all a mere misunderstanding?"

"That may be true, but if what you are saying is true, why did they run away?" Chad asked in his deep monotone, his point being made.

"That is what I was thinking of. For what reason would a regular soul have for kidnapping Kurosaki's sister? Most of them know nothing of the soul society, and if they do, surely they won't know that he's a taicho. It can't be something as simple as taking her in hopes of getting to him…"

Orihime glanced down with her brows drawn down in the slightest. "This is all so confusing…I thought that the Espada ordeal would be the last of our troubles…" She sighed to herself before straightening suddenly with wide eyes, her phone being the source of her surprise. It had started to vibrate in her pocket, so she hastily pulled it out, flipping it open before looking at the caller ID. "Hello?

"Oh, hi Urahara-san!" She smiled widely before she started nodding into the phone as if the male on the other end could see her. "Hai, I'll bring them and come over immediately! Bye!" She hung up and turned towards the males, her brown eyes sparkling like they hadn't for quite a while. "Kurosaki-kun, Rukia-chan, and Abarai-kun are at Urahara-san's house waiting for us!" She clasped her hands together as she started to giggle, suddenly forgetting about the whole situation. "It has been quite some time since we've seen them all, ne?"

"Hai. Kurosaki must have been given special permission from Yamamoto-taicho in order to come over; I suppose that the soul society is very tolerant because it's his blood relative." The slim male adjusted his glasses before giving each of his former classmates a brief nod. "Alright, let's get going. I doubt that they'll return to this place after we've spotted them."

"Hai!"

"Aa."

0—Break—0

"I think that this will be a good place for a while." Kisame said, bringing the rest of the group to a halt as he leapt atop a large tree stump. He half turned, watching as Deidara leapt off of his large clay bird along with Sasori. They weren't as fast as he and Itachi, one of them being a puppet wielder, the other being someone who relied too much on his clay contraptions. His narrow hues flicked over to Itachi, who was calmly lowering Karin to the ground as she glanced around with a bored expression. The Uchiha didn't seem in the least bit winded, despite the incredible speeds and the added burden of carrying someone else.

"Jeez, think that you traveled far enough?" The teen drawled, whistling lowly when she caught sight of the mountains looming just over the cliff that they were a few yards away from. "We had to have traveled at least one-hundred miles from Karakura for there to be any of this terrain." She released her breath in a low huff before shrugging it off. She was irritated that they disobeyed her in taking her out of her city, but she supposed that there really wasn't anything she could've done to stop them. It seemed that they had powers that even Ichigo didn't possess.

"Is there any fresh water around here, Shark boy?" She suddenly asked, running her hand into her ebony hair with a slight frown. Disgustingly greasy. She glanced up at the males she traveled with and felt like yelling at them. Of course they all looked perfectly clean despite the fact that she was positive that they haven't showered once since they've come together!

"Why would you assume that I know?" The blue tinted male snorted. "Besides, if I were a Shark man, I wouldn't be attracted to fresh water; sharks live in salt water!"

"I couldn't care less." She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, settling on sending the male her fiercest glare. "Unlike the rest of you all, I'm not automatically clean and perfect; I have to shower, and I haven't since we've met! I'm starting to develop spider webs!"

"That is impossible as long as you still have skin, Uchiha-hime." Sasori responded dryly as he picked up a log and a kunai, starting to shave it down in attempts to starting a piece of artwork.

"I may resemble the Uchiha's as you all say, but I'm a Kurosaki!" She growled before marching over to Deidara, nudging his sitting body with her foot. "Oi, take me to fresh water, pervert."

The clay wielder gasped and climbed to his feet surprisingly quick, glancing over to Itachi's still body with worry. "Eh? I-I don't know why you're calling me that, Karin-chan, I mean, I'm only one or two years older than you are…Besides, i-it isn't like I was hitting on you or anything!" He flinched at the feel of a gruff hand on his shoulder.

The clearing went silent for a few moments before Itachi's smooth baritone spoke up. "Sasori, you take imouto-chan to the nearest fresh water; Deidara…I wish to train with you."

_Oh hell…_Deidara's eyes flashed over to Sasori, who refused to meet his gaze, and then to Kisame, who merely smirked in that shark-like way of his and chuckled aloud. He would be of no help at all. Finally his gaze traveled to Karin, who watched all this with a thin brow lifted.

"What's with that look?" She asked, "I mean, it's only training…It can't be that bad." She muttered as she passed by the blonde, who was sending her increasingly heated glares before following the redheaded spirit into the darkening woods of the unknown territory. Like the others, she was no help, in fact, she possibly made things worse.

"So what sort of things did you do to deserve that title from the brat, Deidara?" Kisame asked with his low pitched chuckle at the tip of his tongue, breaking the mounting silence that had once again taken over the clearing once the female and shortest male had left their presence.

The clay user couldn't help but sigh in exasperation when he felt the air around them thicken with the intent to kill, its source being the person who stood directly behind him with a kunai out and ready for use. This really wasn't his day, was it?

0—Break—0

"We know where they are." Urahara said with a gleeful chuckle, fanning his smug face while everyone in the room gaped at him openly for a few seconds at the sudden declaration.

Ichigo was suddenly in front of him, vein popping out of his forehead, tanned hand wrapped around the shopkeeper's neck, starting to increase pressure with each passing second. "WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU TELL ME SOONER? THIS ISN'T ONE OF YOUR DAMN GAMES; THIS IS THE LIFE OF **MY IMOUTO**!" He snarled, starting to squeeze the life out of the former squad twelve taicho.

"Ichigo-baka, how is he going to tell us if you kill him?" Rukia ripped the infuriated male off from the blonde man with the help of Chad and Renji. "Stop being an idiot and just cool down, I'm sure that Urahara had a perfectly good reason why he chose to conceal this information." She half turned, lifting a single brow, "Ne?"

There was no evidence of the foul play a moment ago, for there was that typical grin on his face as he fanned himself. "Hai! I was waiting for someone to ask, but it never came! So I decided that if you wouldn't ask within an hour, I would give you a hint or two!" He barely finished the sentence before a fist was smashed into his face, sending him through the other room and completely destroying his paper walls.

"TEME! I should've let Ichigo-baka kill you!" She exclaimed. "This is a blood relation! It's—."

"Calm down, Kuchiki-chan. I really would've told you immediately if I believed that Kurosaki-chan was in any real danger." The male straightened and calmly wiped at the blood that was trickling down his chin. "However, that is not the case when it comes to her 'kidnappers'. In fact, they seem more intent on protecting her than anything else."

_As I thought._ Uryu thought, adjusting his glasses before glancing across the table where Orihime and Chad were gazing back at him with raised brows. They shouldn't have been impressed; the Ishida always had keen intellect. "How is it that you know of this? Judging by Hanakari's expression, he knew nothing of this either."

Everyone turned their eyes to the redheaded teen that stood at the entrance to the room, his broom left discarded at his feet as he stared Urahara down with a hooded gaze. "You knew all this time, Kisuke-san, when Ururu and I have been searching for hours every day and night? When Yuzu-chan and her tou-san have been worried over her disappearance?"

"Gomen Jinta-kun, but you couldn't know until Kurosaki-kun came along."

"Why?"

"You would've rushed in without asking questions if I told you about it. Though I am positive that they mean Kurosaki-chan no harm, I am almost equally positive that they will not let her go without a fight. You couldn't have handled them on your own."

"With all due respect, Urahara-san, but can we move this along? We need to know what we're up against before Ichigo here starts breaking things." Renji said in a strained voice as he and Chad continued to hold the orange haired male back.

"Aa. Okay, first off, Kurosaki-chan is being protected by four different souls, each one of them having a different power level from what we can tell; though we are unsure of what their limits are or what kind of powers they can use for that matter. The one who seems to be the one attached to our dear Kurosaki is this man." He snapped his fingers and Tessai came in and handed him a small file from another room.

The blonde man reached in and smoothly pulled one out, revealing a handsome young man around Ichigo's and his former classmates' ages. He had discerning ebony hues and a blank expression; he wore a long trench coat that was black with red clouds on it, and seemed to have small scars under his eyes. Everyone couldn't help but stare. He looked a lot like Karin…more so than Ichigo, that was for sure.

"Who is that teme?" The brother growled, managing to move Chad's hand away from his mouth.

"We couldn't get close enough to find out, he has extremely sharp senses and would have discovered our presence. That being said; lets move on to the next person." Urahara pulled out another photograph, this one being of yet another attractive male, this one appearing to be the same age as Karin give or take a couple of years. He had long blonde hair covering one of his eyes, the other one being a brightly colored azure. He was grinning in the picture as he happily ate out of a ramen carton, seemingly the complete opposite of the male before him.

"This one seems to be your average teenager; however, he seems to have one unusual power that we haven't seen before in anyone else." He pulled out another picture, this one being that he was on top of a massive white creature with a blank face in the shape of a bird.

Rukia squinted. "Is that a hollow?"

"Iie. It is one of his creations. Somehow this young man is able to manipulate what we think to be clay, and change it in any shape or form that he so desires."

"…Continue, and speed it up a bit." Ichigo ordered; his face still in that deadly scowl.

"Very well," Another picture was produced. Everyone gasped at the sight. It was something that appeared to be a man, however, his skin was blue, his teeth were sharp, and his eyes were small and like that of a beast. Everything about that man screamed shark! "This man is our third 'kidnapper'. We know next to nothing other than the fact that he carries a large sword over his back covered in cloth."

"Just like mine?"

"…not exactly. His is wider, meaning that his sword is extremely different from your Zangetsu."

"Okay…Move on." _If Karin is hanging with a man who can make clay figures and another that looks like a human shark, then things really must be bad!_

"And last but not least is this joyful fellow." The picture that was laid out before them was another beautiful male, this one having a deadpan expression just as the first male. He had unruly red hair, sleepy looking hazel hues and like the rest of the men before him, he wore a black trench coat with red clouds on it. "He doesn't seem to have any defining powers from what we could tell, but do not underestimate him; he may be strong yet."

"Poor Karin-chan, she must be severely worried in her position." Rukia stated, glancing back down at the male who resembled a shark.

"Surprisingly, she isn't. She seems more than comfortable with these men." The grinning male pulled out another picture, this one being of Karin smirking at the blonde and shark male as she sat next to the male who she resembled, sharing a plate of dango.

There was a collective, "Eh?"

"Why the hell is Karin-baka so calm when everyone else is worried?" Jinta growled, thinking of Yuzu as he glared at the female accusingly through the photo.

"We don't know why she is obviously so willing to join them, but we do know that Kurosaki-kun wants to have a talk with her now." The former captain smirked from behind his fan as he watched the orange haired male from the corner of his eyes.

Said male had a blank face, his eyes not once leaving the newest addition to the pictures. Karin was sitting next to the male who resembled her so much and seemed to be having fun. A small vein threatened to pop out from his forehead, spoiling his deadpan expression. "Tell me where she is."

"She's deep in the forests about one hundred and seventy miles from here due north…I suggest that when you go, keep your guard up. Up until now, the four men have simply been running away from us whenever we'd get close, but I have a feeling that things will change out there in the wild. Without anything to bring attention to them, I have a feeling that they'll go all out on you in that terrain."

"So be it. If they refuse to return Karin, I'll gladly fight." Ichigo shrugged off the two males who had previously holding them back before walking off towards the door, not waiting to see if anyone chose to follow.

"I have a feeling that things are more complicated than you let on, Urahara-san." Uryu stated calmly as he adjusted his glasses before climbing to his feet and following his former classmate out the door.

Pretty soon, everyone else followed, leaving the male to himself in the room. He fanned himself a few more times as he glanced down at the pictures that he was able to secure. "I wonder if I should have mentioned that they have no way of sneaking up on them for a surprise attack without this one noticing." He said as he stared at the picture of the raven haired man. "…Oh well, they've got two taichos with them and one fukutaicho. I'm sure that they can handle one disadvantage."

0—Four/End—0

A/N: I hope it was good! Please leave me a review and let me know what you thought of it!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: So sorry for the late (xInfinity) update. I don't really have any valid excuses, so we'll just go with an 'oops' here :).

Thanx to **Echo Uchiha, blacklightningwolf, Jackie, WraithReaper, Inner Ichigo, Nazgul of xord, RandyKaguyaofthewasteland, Every shadow has its twin, ., NikkiRubio101, Nadalada, Tessutama, Hakkuchi, Voiceofsummer, and FrostyNight98 **for reviewing.

Here's the next one, I hope that you all enjoi!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach.

0—My Precious Imouto/Five—0

"I didn't hit on her or anything along those lines, Itachi!" Deidara exclaimed; shoving his hands hastily into the pouch attached to his upper leg, allowing his hands to intake a healthy helping of clay as he attempted to dodge the Uchiha's incredibly fast swipe at his face. He managed to avoid the brunt of the attack, but the paler complexioned male's hand managed to graze him, causing his vision to momentarily go blurry.

_Damn…Karin-chan really should've been a kunoichi; she really knows how to get shinobi worked up over her and doesn't seem to care the problems she lays in her wake…Damn Uchiha-hime! _He leapt a fair distance away, relieved when Itachi remained where he stood seconds before, his Sharigan blazing, tomoe spinning wildly. The slightly shorter male knew to keep his eyes down and not meet his gaze.

"If you did not do such things, then why did imouto feel the need to call you a pervert? Do not lie to me Deidara, I will not tolerate it." The Uchiha's face was devoid of emotion, but the blonde knew that he was still in danger. Back when he was alive, all Itachi did was protect his brother, even if it didn't seem to be so to most.

_And now he's transferred his overprotective tendencies to Karin-chan. _Deidara's hands spat out the clay, ready to be morphed into his destructive art. Azure hues flicked off of the taller man for a fraction of a second to add details—wrong move.

Itachi took less than a second to form the handsigns for the phoenix fire jutsu before he leapt into the air and held his hand next to his lips in a small cupping motion.

_Shit. _Deidara saw the orange-red flames shooting down at him from above and rolled out of the way, just as he completed his bird. _That was too close! _He swiftly dropped the little masterpiece onto the soft dirt before holding up a single handsign. The clay bird instantly enlarged itself, taking on massive proportions. He swiftly jumped up and rode on its back as it made its ascent.

"Hn." Itachi wasn't intimidated in the least. With a cool expression that only he could pull off, he sprinted to the nearby line of trees and ran up its trunk, giving himself a chakra enflamed boost to allow him to leap higher than average heights in order to reach Deidara and his bird. Hands grasping onto the piece of art's wings, he braced his feet on the bottom of it and pulled back towards the ground with a small grunt, ripping the wings off of the body and tossing them to the ground.

"Gah!" The blonde hastily tossed out another miniature clay bird over the side and followed it in its pull to the ground, forming the enlargement handsign and landing on it as graceful as he could as his former vessel exploded. "Aren't you going to at least allow me to explain my side of the story, un?" He yelled down, forcing his bird higher and higher so the male would not physically reach them.

The only answer that he received was an enormous ball of flame shooting past the trees and straight for him.

The shark-like Kisame watched the entire exchange with his sharp teeth glistening as he cackled with delight. This was the most exciting thing that has happened since they had died. _But then again…I do find myself itching for a fight as well…_He fingered the hilt of his sword, thoughtfully. _If I had angered the chisai Uchiha__, would I have been battling with Itachi as well?_

He found that the thought didn't frighten him as it once did; in fact, since his death, everything that was once perceived as dangerous now seemed to be the only thing that would bring a thrill to his veins._ Perhaps when the Kouchiha returns, I'll anger her so that I may fight as well._

0-Break-0

"Oh Kami, this feels heavenly!" Karin moaned, once more submerging her whole body into the lake and surfacing a few moments later with a genuine smile pulling at her lips. "Water, it has been far too long since I've felt your loving touch against my skin!"

"Are you deranged, Uchiha-hime?" Sasori's dry voice caused the bathing female to pause in her sweet reunion with the clear liquid. "You seem to be talking to water as if it were able to answer."

"Oh, shut up Sasori-san! You can't imagine how much sweat and gunk that I had caked on my face and hair! I may not act like most teenaged girls, but I like taking care of my hygiene as much as everyone else." She glanced over her shoulder as she brushed her fingers through her dark tresses, watching the male as he kept his hazel eyes steadily locked onto a small puppet he had begun to craft from a log when they had first arrived in the forest. His face was carefully neutral and didn't give an outsider like her any hint of what he could be thinking.

_Man, I'm glad that Itachi-nii sent him instead of one of the others._ She thought, cupping a handful of water to cool her rapidly heating neck. _Sasori-san doesn't seem like the type to do something as dishonorable as to peek at me as I bathe._ She started to relax as she found a submerged rock to sit on so she could tend to her hair a little longer. She normally didn't care to bother with it too much, but after seeing Itachi's beautiful hair, she couldn't help but want to start taking care of her own.

The area around the two started to become silent, save of the sounds of rushing water, animals, and the light scrape of the redhead's kunai against the puppet in his lap. Karin allowed her mind to wander. _I wonder how Yuzu-chan and old goat chin are doing…_ She mused. _It has been a while since I've last seen them. Maybe if I ask, Itachi will let me visit—._

**BAM!**

The thunderous sound of explosions startled the teen that quickly leapt to her feet off of the rock, water cascading off her form as she shifted to face Sasori completely instead of giving him her back. "What the hell was that?" She asked, moving to get out and approach the unconcerned male before remembering of her current state of undress.

**BAM!**

Another Earth shattering explosion.

"It is not anything that you should worry about. You may continue your bathing." The man set down his kunai and pulled out a small tube and paint brush from his sleeves, beginning to fashion his new puppet a face.

The Kurosaki watched on with a disbelieving stare and dropped jaw. "What do you mean that I shouldn't worry about it? It sounds like the fucking third world war is going on over there! The others are probably under attack! We have to go help them!"

"It is pointless. That is not an enemy causing those explosions."

Clicking her tongue in annoyance when the male didn't elaborate, she crossed her arms over her chest as she moved back to the rock and lowering herself into the water up to her torso. "If it isn't an enemy, then who's the one causing all of that?"

"Deidara." The name slid out of his mouth easily just as he added the finishing touches to his puppet's face.

"Why the hell is that moron causing such a disturbance? I'm sure that people halfway across the globe can hear him." She grumbled grudgingly as she tried to refrain from flinching when another earth shattering explosion sounded throughout the forest.

"I imagine that now that Itachi is certain that you're a fair distance away, he wished to punish him in response to the way Deidara acts towards you. If we learned anything from him back when we were alive, it's that he protects all that he holds precious with every fiber of his being." He set the puppet down next to him in a sitting position to dry before reaching for another rather large log, pulling out his kunai again.

"Wait, they're fighting because of me?" Once more the young woman was out of the water, this time walking onto the shore purposefully. "Of all the stupid, sexist things…" She glared down at her dirty clothes, not really liking the thought of having to put them back on. She grimaced. She didn't have any new undergarments to wear…

"Itachi secured you some new clothes when he and Kisame went out for a recon yesterday." A plastic bag was thrown at her feet filled to the top with clothes.

"EH? Why the hell am I just finding out right now? I was already considering asking you for one of your trench coats and going commando!" She snatched the bag from the ground and dug around for some underwear, nearly crying in relief when she saw several pairs in a pack. They may have been a little too girly for her tastes, but she couldn't bring herself to care, not when she's been so long without anything clean.

There was a brief pause of silence as Sasori digested her words, then spoke up. "What does 'going commando' mean Uchiha-hime?"

0-Break-0

They had increased their speed exponentially when they started hearing the sounds of explosions.

"It's that blonde guy! The one that Urahara showed us in his pictures!" Renji exclaimed as he leapt over another branch, not slowing his speed in the slightest.

"I wonder why he's using his powers. I don't sense any hollows around..." Jinta spoke up, pausing whenever he caught the orange haired man staring at him from the corner of his eye. "What is it?"

"Jinta, I don't even want to ask you what experiments Urahara did to you as a kid that you're able to keep up with us, but you should've stayed with Inoue and the others humans." Ichigo called over his shoulder, seeing the teen's red hair at the corner of his vision. "We don't know how strong these guys are, so this could get really ugly."

"I don't see why you're fighting me on this, baka. I'm the only one who has seen their ring leader in action!" He paused before getting a bit more serious. "He's insane, Ichigo, and there's no way that I'm going to let Karin be taken from Yuzu-chan forever by the likes of that guy!" The teen shouted back, his voice sounding a bit cut up due to the rapid bounding he had to do on the trees in order to keep pace.

_Stubborn kid._ Ichigo shook his head but ceased all attempts at changing the male's mind. He knew that like most teens, once Jinta's mind was made, that was it. There was no question of whether his decision would be carried out, but rather _when_ it'd be carried through. His narrow chocolate hues flicked over to Rukia his chin jutting out to get her attention. "How much further?"

"We are about five hundred yards away." She answered, slowing her movements significantly. "I think that we should stop when we're within two hundred yards. That way we'll be able to go in with some kind of plan-."

"We don't have time for that! Who knows what they're doing to Karin this far into the forest!" The Kurosaki interrupted.

"Calm down Ichigo." Renji spoke up for the first time in a long time. "Stop being such a moron. If they were really doing anything bad to Karin-chan, then we'd be feeling her spiritual pressure flucuating like crazy by now."

"He's right." Rukia spoke up, sending her childhood friend a small nod in thanks. Ichigo was stubborn, and if there was one thing that she learned over the years of being his companion, it was that he never took anything seriously until Renji or someone stronger than him brought that information to his attention. She glanced away from the silent orange haired male, motioning for them to halt.

"What's wrong? I thought that we were going to stop a little closer!" Jinta called from the back of the group.

The sole female in the group put a shaky hand to her lips for silence, her eyes trained on the clearing several yards away.

There were three males in the center, two of them standing while the third was sprawled on his back. She took in each of their movements, unable to keep her gasp in when she realized just what it was about them that made her reluctant to take another step forward.

"What is it?" Renji's voice uttered quietly in her left ear.

"...Those guys...I don't know how, but I sense that something is off about them." She half turned, her eyes roving over Ichigo's concerned face. "There's this dark air coiling around their souls."

"Like they're fixing to turn into hollows?" The ponytailed male inquired.

"Not exactly... Their spiritual power seems more like Aizen." She made sure to make eye contact with the Kurosaki. "I think that going in there for a fight will be foolish. We need to approach them sensibly, Ichigo."

"..." The male didn't respond verbally, but he managed a tight nod.

"Oi...There's Karin." Jinta pulled the three adults' attention back up front, and sure enough, there she was.

Ichigo took a small step forward, watching as she approached the trio flanked by the male who had the red hair. His brown eyes took in the smirk on her face and how her eyes shined with laughter and amusement as she glanced up at who they all assumed to be the ring leader of the freaks after inspecting the male on the ground. She opened her mouth to speak to him, but he couldn't catch a word of it no matter how hard he strained his ears. She was too far.

_Karin..._

It happened suddenly that Ichigo wasn't sure what happened. One moment Karin was joking around with the guys, next the tallest one, the one with the skin with the bluish tint, poked her on her forehead, rendering her unconcious.

He heard the distinct sound of some man releasing a cry in anger, and when he was already half way to the clearing, sword in hand, he realized it was himself.

"KARIN!"

0-Break-0

Itachi stared down at Deidara's still form with thinly veiled disdain. "You aren't fooling anyone Deidara. I know that that did not affect you as much as you are wanting me to believe."

"How would you know, un?" He cracked open his azure eye to peer up at the Uchiha that stood over him, his lips curling. "You've never had to fight yourself!"

His eye twitched. "I know my own strength."

"Stop degrading yourself like this, Deidara. It may be amusing, but I'm starting to feel embarassed just watching you." Kisame dropped down next to Itachi to peer down at the fallen teen.

"This was the only way to keep Itachi from attacking me, un!"

The Uchiha opened his mouth to respond, but paused, glancing up when he heard the sounds of Karin conversing with Sasori.

"Whoa! He really kicked your ass, ne, Deidara?" Karin jogged over to the small group, her damp hair flowing freely down her back. A smirk stretched across her lips when she noticed that the blonde was sending her a not-so-subtle death glare. "Heh." She glanced up at the pale man that stood directly across from her, a genuine smile gracing her face. "Did you-."

All males tensed at the same moment, and before she could blink, Kisame pressed a pressure point in her forehead, knocking her out. He snatched her body out of the air before tossing her over to Itachi, who was staring off into the woods with narrowed crimson eyes.

"KARIN!"

There was the sound of crashing branches, and a blur of orange and black sped towards them at what most would consider to be a blinding speed. Itachi caught sight of a small glint of silver in what little light managed to make it through the canopy of the trees. He casually leapt up to the safety of a tree branch overhead, Karin held tightly within his arms as he watched Kisame effortlessly knock the boy away with one swing of his sameheda.

Sasori and Deidara also took to the trees, each one watching the orange haired male climb to his feet after a blow that would have killed most.

"You bastard...What did you do to Karin?" He snarled, shaking off the bark that had attatched itself to his clothing.

"I knocked her out. Wouldn't want her to be getting in the middle of a man's fight... Who are you, stranger?"

"I'm here to bring Karin back! She's my imouto and I won't stand here and watch you handle her any way you please!" The male snarled. "I'm Kurosaki Ichigo, and if you hand her back right now, I'll help you cross over to the other side."

Kisame chuckled low in his throat, glancing up into the tree branches to Itachi, who was staring at the newcomer with a calculating stare. "Do you hear that, Itachi? This guy is Uchiha-hime's real aniki."

Ichigo followed Kisame's line of sight, his scowl etching a little deeper into his skin. "Put. Karin. Down."

The raven haired male didn't flinch, didn't move to lower the female. If anything, his hands tightened around her even more, a single word escaping his lips. "Iie."

And with that single word, all hell broke loose.

0-Five/End-0

A/N: Uh... I'll update faster this time...I hope... If you review, and want me to update soon, you must use all caps that way I know you mean business x3! Something like "UPDATE SOON!"

:D Have an awesome day and thanx for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Here's the next one, guys. I'm sick, so if there is any mistakes, please let me know :)

Thanx to **Nadalada, WraithReaper, intrigued, Codry, killroy64, Voiceofsummer, Azalie-Kauriu, Karin Kurosaki 1, Every shadow has its twin,** **Decoy, ****moonlightrurouni, Female Itachi, Bokmal14, BlackRoseFire,** **AbStRaCt DaRkNeSs, amba gurl, waaant more,** and** Cookizilla** for reviewing.

I hope that you all enjoi!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach.

0-My Precious Imouto/Six-0

Ichigo never knew such an intense form of rage. It washed over him, and left the unusual feeling of fire ants crawling all over his skin.

Sure, it wasn't as if he went around with a cloud of anger hovering over his head, but he was only human. Well, he used to be before he died at least, and has experienced a couple of situations when he had wanted to do nothing more than to start an all out brawl with the person who angered him; however, it has never gotten to this point before. It's never gotten bad enough that he wanted to _kill_ the other person. Said person being the male who resembled Karin and held her to him as if _he _were the aniki here.

Ichigo couldn't stand it. The mere sight of his sister cradled in that insane spirit's arms made him want to grab Zangetsu and run it through the other male until there was nothing left. The thought of accomplishing such a feat brought a wide, almost manic grin to his lips, and before he knew what he was doing, his zanpakuto was tearing through the truck of the massive tree that the dark haired male resided in with his sister.

His wild amber hues watched with avid dissatisfaction as the long haired male smoothly leapt from the tree, Karin safely nestled in his arms as he joined the ground with the tall blue skinned man who resembled a shark.

The male in the long trench coat blinked at him slowly with a blank expression on his face, the smallest of frowns pulling at his thin lips. "You are a reckless aniki. You could have harmed imouto-chan." He drawled with his velvety voice, disapproval evident with the tone that he was using. He gently passed Karin off to the shark man, his large hand coming down on her head and ruffling her damp ebony hair with a sense of affection.

The orange haired Soul Reaper saw red. "How dare you?" He snarled, rushing forward with his sword, poised to strike again. Ichigo faintly recalled hearing his friends' voices shout out, telling him to stop, but he couldn't. Hell, he didn't want to. The only thing that would make the strange sensation of fire in his veins cease would be killing this lost soul and taking Karin back home where she belonged. When he was finally within range, his eyes met that of the soul, briefly noting how his foe had crimson irises before speeding forth.

With a deafening cry, he raised Zangetsu high above his head before slashing down, rendering the male in half. Blood splattered everywhere, coating the trees, grass, even himself. "I...I did it!" He stared down at the mangled body, a perverse sense of glee welling up in his body, until he was shaking with uncontainable laughter.

"You are a careless fool." A familiar deep voice sounded at his side.

Ichigo lifted his head, releasing a tight gasp as he met blood red eyes that had drifted shut with death not a moment ago. They were incredibly cold as they landed on the orange haired male, no trace of the warmth which he had when regarding his imouto earlier. "But how?"

There was a flash of black and red before the soul reaper felt an incredibly intense warmth coil in his stomach, it was an odd feeling, but one that he was sure that he had felt before. With great difficulty he tore his eyes away from the wayward soul and flicked them down to the source of the discomfort, eyes widening and his mouth dropping open in horror when he realized that there was a gash the size of a open hand with copious amounts of blood spilling out onto the forest floor.

His arm reached out in attempts of touching it, only to be forced to a stop when a pale hand encircled his wrist.

"You walked right into a trap, merely because imouto-chan was in danger. If my comrades wished her harm, we could've killed her to slow you down or by trying to aim for you. You would have been the cause of her death."

Ichigo couldn't think straight; the very thought that this man was still alive after slashing him in half only served to fuel the madness. He ignored the deep wound, instead he tightened his hold on Zangetsu and slashed out at the ebony haired man.

"A useless aniki." The male casually side stepped the blow that was meant to behead him, lifting a single hand and encircling the other's neck. He lifted Ichigo up into the air, his crimson gaze glittering with ice cold hate. "You don't deserve the privilege of having such loving siblings." His hand tightened a notch on the neck, causing the carrot top to gasp out in pain, amber eyes bulging in fear and anger.

"Ehehe. As much as this amuses me, Itachi, your imouto-chan seems to be stirring. She won't be asleep for much longer. You barely tapped her, didn't you?" A voice sounded nearby.

Ichigo couldn't see the source, his eyes wildly combing the clearing for any sign of life other than the soul holding onto him.

"You won't be finding anyone else here, Kurosaki Ichigo."

His gaze snapped back to the pale man before him._ How the hell does he know my name? I-._

"The reason?" He leaned forward, his mouth a few centimeters away from the soul reaper's ear. "I'm in your head."

And just like that, the world around them shattered. Ichigo found himself on his knees, and the pale skinned soul stood a few feet away with the other members of his group flanking him. His eyes flickered over the male's shoulder to find Karin being passed from the shark-like man to his attacker, noting how careful he handle her.

"We will meet again, Kurosaki." The males in the black trench coats sent him a dismissive stare before putting their hands together in some weird sort of handsign, and smoke enfolding their shapes before there was nothing there.

"Karin!" Ichigo attempted to rise, only to release a loud groan as his legs gave out beneath his weight. He glanced down and frowned when he realized that during the span of their fight, the ebony haired male must have cut him a few inches above his Achilles tendon. _He could have just sliced it and be done with me... No, these wounds were merely warnings._..

0-Break-0

"Ugh...what the hell?" Karin groaned, her hand reaching up on reflex to the source of pain. She cracked her eyes open and peered up at the large expanse of the sky, frowning when she could not recall falling asleep, meaning... "Who the hell knocked me out and for what reason?" She snarled, sitting up and immediately scanning her surroundings for her four companions.

She spotted Sasori and Deidara sitting side by side on a log nearby. Itachi and Kisame were once again not in sight. _What, are they off being gay together? _She thought, before scrunching her nose in disgust at the mere thought. _Nevermind... They're probably scouting the area to make sure that no one's nearby._

The redhead carving out another small puppet while the blonde was fussing over the shallow wounds that he had gained from his fight with Itachi earlier on. The puppeteer noticed her movements first. "Ah, Uchiha-hime has awoken." He didn't set the handcrafted doll aside as he climbed to his feet and made his way over to her; in fact, his eyes didn't move from his work. "Is your head bothering you?"

"Iie." Her hand moved away from her forehead and she moved to stand up, only for a pair of dead hazel hues lift up from the wood to meet her.

"You will not stand up, Uchiha-hime. Itachi specifically said that you were not to move from that boulder until he has returned."

"Returned from what?" She was irritated, but wouldn't protest. She didn't see the point when she knew full and well that this male wouldn't respond in any way that would satisfy her.

"They went to gather food." Deidara spoke up, a single azure orb flicking up and away from her.

The ebony haired teen felt a small smirk start to take root on her lips as she regarded the blonde with a calculating gaze. He sure as hell was more fun to mess with than Sasori... His reactions would be quite amusing compared to anything the redhead could come up with. "Hey, Deidara... How's your shoulder?"

The blonde's sharp gaze shot back to her and a small growl escaped his lips as he angled his injured arm away from her sights. "None of your business. It is your fault that I got hurt!"

"Oh, so you're blaming me for the fact that this started up with _you _flirting with me?" She crossed her arms over her chest and swept her long hair over her shoulder so that she could see him clearly.

"It wasn't exactly flirting!" He protested. "Honestly, I can't believe how much you exaggerated, Karin!"

A dark shadow loomed over their spot, the blonde feeling chills go down his spine. He felt a sinister presence at his back, but didn't dare to turn around, fearing what-or who he'd see there.

"...Deidara?" A deep voice that the artist had quickly registered to being the voice of pain sounded behind him, and before he could leap up from his spot, a pair of pale hands landed on his shoulders, keeping him in place.

"H-Hai?" The sound of his gulp could be heard from Karin's spot on the boulder a few feet away, who was watching the scene unfold before her, not bothering to pretend that she wasn't enjoying this.

"Is there any particular reason why you are addressing imouto-chan without the proper honorific?"

"W-What are you talking about? We were just joking around, weren't we, Karin-chan?" Deidara sent the soccer lover a pleading glance, not able to keep back the groan when he caught sight of that sinister smirk. He didn't have a chance in hell getting away with it this time.

"Karin-'chan'? What happened? And here I thought that we were becoming closer, Deidara-kun!"

There was silence behind him. "Do we need to train together again, Deidara?"

"IIE!"

"That is enough." The three of them glanced up to see Sasori elegantly painting a face on his newly completed puppet, his eyes refusing to stray up to the scene they caused. "Itachi, it was because of your punishment to Deidara that we were found last time. I think that it'd do Uchiha-hime well to not be forced into induced sleep twice in one day."

"Oh yeah! Itachi-nii, why did you knock me out?" The female moved to stand up and join the trio over by the trees, but was once more kept in place with a mere gaze, this time it was from the intimidating Uchiha who suddenly appeared at her side.

"You cannot move around so much. Give your body time to rest."

"I've rested more than enough. You know, Itachi-nii, it's pretty annoying to keep being treated as if I'm a little-." She cut herself off abruptly, lowering her onyx gaze to the ground as her cheeks heated up.

"A child?" Itachi supplied with the smallest of smiles. They both knew why that was. Older brothers always acted like so towards younger siblings.

"A child..." She agreed, trailing off as she had a faraway look in her eyes, probably recalling memories of a fonder time when it was her biological aniki who acted like so. "You know, Itachi-nii... I haven't seen Ichi-nii in a very long time... I wonder if he would treat me like you do if we were to see each other again." The sporty teen frowned when she felt something warm roll down her cheek, and when she lifted up a hand to dab at it, the frown deepened when it came back with tears. "Wow, look at me. Crying over something as stupid as this." She snorted. "How the mighty have fallen."

She didn't notice the tense air that had taken to surrounding the shinobi whenever she'd mention the orange haired sibling, so she merely leaned against the towering male before her, burying her face into the folds of his trenchcoat. She allowed a small smile to spread across her face when she felt the man wrap his arms around her, offering her the comfort that would never come from Ichigo.

Itachi stared down at the young woman with a feeling similar to jealousy. He was there for her, taking on the role of her aniki, yet here she was, pondering over that...scum that would have endangered her life if she was with the very kidnappers those people seemed to think they were. _I promise you this, Kurosaki Ichigo... You're going to regret the day that you walked out on this wonderful girl for your own sake... We will have to have a very long talk the next time that we meet._

0-Six/End-0

A/N: So yeah... Thanx for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Yo. I felt it was time to update after what probably felt like a thousand years.

Thanx to: **Creepy-chan, weirdo-chan, signifyme, Nerd4ever243, Vertigo Venom, Saya, ****Rianan D' Halmsu****, KuroRyuKiba, JulChan1987, Blue Letters, XxBishxX, StarDustX, moonlightrurouni, Every shadow has its twin, WraithReaper, Voiceofsummer, Karin Kurosaki 1, Tensa Zangetsu 17, **and **Page-Mistress **for all of the wonderful reviews! 

Please read and enjoi!

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or Naruto.

0—My Precious Imouto/Seven—0

"Renji… Let me down…" Ichigo's soft request was almost missed by the redheaded captain, who then proceeded to redirect his leap from a tree to the safety of the ground.

The taller male straightened from the crouch in which he landed before allowing his best friend to slide out of his arms and onto his feet, only to watch as he cried out and landed on his hands and knees, face inches from a puddle of mud. There was a long pause as the others joined them on the ground, none of them willing to break the silence so soon after the humiliating defeat. They watched on as Ichigo flinched as his already healing wounds started to open from his struggles. He attempted climbing to his feet, only to fall back to the ground not even one moment later.

Rukia gasped, stepping forward with her hands outstretched towards the male. "Ichigo…"

"S-Stay back!" He grounded out through clenched teeth. He pressed his forehead into the back of his hands, releasing a heavy sigh. _What the hell is wrong with me?_

"What the hell was wrong with you back there?" Jinta asked, moving into his line of vision so that the orange haired male could witness the hard scowl on the teen's face. The young redhead's tanned arms crossed over his chest as he glared down at his elder, eyes blazing with anger. "We came to save Karin, not put her in more danger."

"I know…" Ichigo bit his lip, his brows furrowing. "I don't know what the hell came over me…" His light honey hues flicked up to his friends, confusion showing almost as much as his guilt. "It was as if I was in my body, but didn't have any control of what I was saying or doing."

"And you think that that's a legitimate excuse?" Jinta hissed. He didn't waste any time in taking a step forward with a fist rising as if to punch the downed captain. "Just because you couldn't control that damned hollow inside of you?!"

"Jinta." Renji caught the younger redhead's fist and pulled him back, though his warm brown orbs remained on his best friend, waiting for the male to talk.

Ichigo slowly shook his head, grunting lowly as he shifted from his position on the ground into a position suited for what he was about to say. "It wasn't my inner hollow. I wasn't in any danger of failing; at least as far as I knew at the time. He doesn't just randomly barge in; he couldn't, not even if he wanted to. No, what happened to me there was unlike something I've ever felt before." He turned his intense gaze to Rukia. "You said that you saw some kind of darkness in their souls, ne?"

The short female nodded, her large blue eyes fixating on the orange haired male's expression. "You expect that what I saw had some kind of adverse effect on you."

Since the sentence was phrased as a statement, Ichigo didn't respond. He did, however, turn to face Renji and motioned for the ponytailed man to pick him up once more. "I need to talk to Urahara."

"Wait, so you're just going to let Karin stay in the hands of those strangers?!" Jinta exclaimed in disbelief as the shinigami moved to take their leave. "Didn't we come out here to rescue her?" He wanted to say more but was halted by Ichigo's intense stare.

"Don't you think that this is hard for me too? I want to get my imouto back, but how can I do that if I might put her in danger? Think, Jinta; if I went this out of control anywhere but in the woods, I could have put many more lives in danger… Karin-chan would hate me if I put someone else in danger just to save her." Ichigo sighed heavily as Renji pulled him up into his arms, his face free of a scowl for once and filled with that of sorrow and regret. "I'll be able to save her… Not yet, but I swear that I will."

The young teen watched on as the three shinigami took off, sailing through the trees with a grace that would have baffled anyone should they have to powers to do so, however, he didn't watch on with wonder or awe; his eyes were glued to the ground. His hands remained clenched at his side as he bit the insides of his cheeks raw to keep from yelling at Ichigo once more.

"Ichigo…you teme. What the hell am I supposed to tell Yuzu-chan?"

0—Seven/End—0

A/N: I know that it was short, but the next chapter will be out by Sunday. I can say this without hesitation because it is actually mostly done with only about half a page left to type up. So yeah… Sorry for not updating for more than half a year…

Anyways, thanx for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Here's the promised chapter. I decided to update it today since I finished it today… I also want to tell you guys that I will gradually be going away from using Japanese words and stuff because honestly, who am I kidding? The only words that I will use will (obviously) be imouto, aniki, and any suffixes.

Oh, and Deidara comes off as a bit dumb in this chapter, and I know that it's OOC, but hey… A dumb Deidara ensures some humor to come, right?

Thanx to: **Cookizilla, ****Every shadow has its twin, moonlightrurouni, Tensa Zangetsu 17, redrobin, **and **WraithReaper** for reviewing!

Please read and enjoi!

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or Naruto.

0—My Precious Imouto/Eight—0

Night fell swiftly and soon enough, a fire was prepared to cook the game that Kisame had caught a few hours earlier. The meat was strung up and quickly skinned, the smell of raw meat so pungent that Karin was surprised that the hungry animals of the forest have yet to make their move on the campsite. Her nose crinkled in distaste as the smell of rust afflicted her nose; it was so bad that she had to take a few steps back, a move that didn't go unnoticed by the four men in their group.

"What's wrong Karin-chan? Aren't you used to the smell of raw meat, un?" Deidara asked as he slowly made his way over to her side, his head tilted slightly to the side, conveying his confusion.

The female lifted a tanned hand to shield her nose and mouth from the smell that seemed to thicken the very air she breathed, pausing to send a curious look towards the blonde male. "Why the hell would I be used to this?"

Large blue orbs blinked down at the female. "Well, aren't you used to smelling this when you cook, un?"

"Kekeke. Here we go…" Kisame guffawed in the background, his small pallid eyes crinkling as much as they could with this new source of amusement that was about to be displayed.

"Oh Kami… You can't be serious…" Karin's hand dropped from her face as she turned towards the older teen. Deidara couldn't help but flinch as the ebony haired female's onyx hues narrowed into a dark glare. "Do you want to repeat that, you sexist pig?"

Deidara, the poor bastard, didn't catch the dangerous tones coating Karin's voice, somehow managing to make it worse. "Is your hearing going bad already since you're aging, Karin-chan? I was merely wondering why you aren't accustomed to the smell of raw meat because women of this world don't seem to be equipped to be any type of warrior, they seem more like they—." The male cut himself off when he finally noticed the younger teen's change in demeanor. She now had her palms resting at her sides and a wicked smirk tugging at the corners of her lips. "What is that look for, un?"

"I just want you to know that you brought this all on yourself, Deidara." Karin snickered lightly, and before the blonde could even blink, her foot shot up, heading straight for the male's family jewels. If he was a lesser shinobi, he wouldn't have been able to catch her foot in time.

Deidara's hands quickly grasped the female's ankle, his visible blue eye wide as he glanced up to her face. "Why did you—?!"

"Heh. Let's see how you deal with this, you bastard." Karin's devil-like expression morphed into one of innocence. "Deidara-kun, what are you doing? I said no when you asked me the first time!" The teen fought to keep her face from showing the glee she felt when she caught sight of the blonde's face. It was slowly changing from confusion to that of horror, his mouth forming an 'o' as a tall shadow fell over his form.

Two pale hands came down on the blonde, one on his shoulder, while the other chose to gravitate towards the hand grasping Karin's ankle. "It's too late to train with you, but I feel that we should go for a late night swim, Deidara." Itachi's frosty voice sounded so close to the teen's ear that he couldn't help but flinch away, his hand numbly dropping the female's leg.

_He's going to drown me! Itachi is going to drown me, un!_ The blonde's visible eye flicked away from the she-devil before him to his former teammate and Kisame, pleading with his gaze for one of them to step in and save him.

Sasori didn't even acknowledge the look, he merely continued on with carving his sixty-fourth puppet without a hint of care for his former teammate's wellbeing. _He's no help._ Deidara thought before turning his attentions to the shark-like male. He nearly whimpered aloud when he caught sight of the blue-tinted male's wide smirk. _That bastard is enjoying this!_

Deidara knew that his chances of finding a way to delay the inevitable were gone the moment the Uchiha's hands tightened on him. "The night is young, Deidara. Let's try to get you as much time in the lake as we can."

_I'm going to die… Again._ The blonde thought inwardly, his only visible eye watering at the thought of just how many times the Uchiha would drown him before he felt that it was enough to put him out of his misery.

Itachi's cool gaze landed on the shorter male he held in his grasp, a miniscule smirk spreading across his lips before flicking his eyes towards the female who was having trouble hiding her mirth. He was no fool; he knew exactly what had transpired between the human and his fellow Akatsuki member. He was well aware that if the female had been fast enough to actually land a hit on the blonde, she would have merely left it at that, but seeing as she could not, she had to settle with being devious. _I won't kill Deidara though._ His eyes slid back to the blonde. _I suppose that mental torture would be more than enough punishment in this case… _

"Come along, Deidara. The water awaits us." Itachi didn't allow his amusement to show on his face; in fact, he made his face a complete blank mask, and from the way the blonde flinched away from him proved that the look was quite convincing. "I'll be back later, imouto-chan." He called over his shoulder.

0—Break—0

"…The feeling didn't go away until they were long gone and Renji was carrying me away from the site." The orange haired male said at last, his gaze not wavering from the man before him. He felt the encouraging touch of Rukia's hand on his shoulder and knew that his redheaded best friend was also giving him his support merely by not interrupting throughout his entire explanation. All that was left was to hear what the blonde haired shop keeper had to say.

"Hmm…" Urahara leaned away from the small table, his hand gravitating towards the light scruff on his chin. "That's interesting… Have you attempted to contact your inner hollow to see what happened from his point of view?"

"I haven't." Ichigo's honey hues flicked away from the shop keeper for a few seconds before they returned, blazing with determination as he slowly climbed to his feet, being mindful of his injuries.

"You may use the training grounds if you wish." The blonde former captain stated. The hand that had fluttered unnecessarily at his chin moving to get a hold of his fan.

"Thanks."

Renji and Rukia had to refrain from helping their orange haired friend, knowing full and well that now was a time to leave the headstrong male alone. They did, however, make sure that he made it downstairs safely before closing the door quietly. This was something that he had to face on his own.

Ichigo sat down Indian style onto a tall rock that had immediately drawn his attention upon entering the training grounds. He shifted around for a few moments, trying to find a most comfortable way to set his back, before giving up with a scowl, clamping his eyes shut as he kept his back ramrod straight. _I've never really been that great at these sorts of things, but if you can hear me, answer!_

A tremor went down the orange haired captain's back as a thick, watery chuckle sounded in his ears.

_**Well, well, well… I was wondering when you'd come calling, King.**_

0—Eight/End—0

A/N: Yo, would you prefer me calling Ichigo's inner hollow Hichigo or Shiro? I've seen people use both… Just leave a review and let me know!

Oh, and thanx for reading!


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Yo! Here's the update. Sorry for the long wait. Oh, and some people have been asking, so I suppose I never really wrote down how old Karin really was… She's around 16.

Thanx to: **AoiKishi,** **anime lover 239, princess123897, hitsukarin4lyf, XXX, JulCan1987, Szayel's Angel, WhatExistsInFalling, Esaria, signifytheworld, Voiceofsummer, Every Shadow has its twin, Sweet Kagamine Kiss, redrobin, moonlightrurouni, Cookizilla, **and** FrostyNight98 **for reviewing!

Please read and enjoi!

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or Naruto.

0—My Precious Imouto/Nine—0

The only way one could tell that Ichigo was surprised was when his brows twitched for the briefest of seconds before settling down into his usual scowl. If he wasn't so accustomed to surprises, he was sure that he would have jumped at the sudden sight of Hichigo crouched before him, leaning in so close that their noses nearly touched.

The microscopic movement of the orange haired captain's brow wasn't lost on the hollow, who promptly threw his head back and cackled. **"Come now, King. I wouldn't bite you…"** Hichigo's eyes slid back to Ichigo's still form, his smirk widening. **"Unless you're submitting to me and are going to allow me to take control of this body."** The pale version of the shinigami stretched out a hand, as if he meant to touch the tanned skin before him.

"Stop playing around." Ichigo snapped, shoving his carbon copy a safe distance away. "I didn't come here to fight you, Hichigo. I need answers."

**"Feh. How dull."** Shirosaki grumbled lightly as he settled on a rock opposite of the shinigami, propping his head up and gazing up lazily. **"So you're here to ask about that strange guy with those odd eyes, right?"**

The orange haired captain leaned forward, his chocolate hues brightening at the thought of getting closer to discovering that strange man's secrets. "Yeah. Did he—?" Ichigo didn't have the chance to finish his question before a white fist was coming straight for his face at an alarming speed. He jerked his head back just in time to dodge, quickly climbing to his feet and leaping back a pace or two in order to get a better view of his inner hollow. "What the hell, Hichigo?!"

A thick, watery chuckle escaped the hollow's snow white lips, his gold eyes alight with a primal glee that only he knew. His blue tongue slipped past his lips and wetted them, a feral grin forming soon after**. "Nothing in your world is free, right King? The same rules apply here."** He dropped low into a stance that would give him an advantage where speed was concerned. **"If you want your answers, you'll have to fight me. If I win though, I'll eat you and I'll be the new king."**

_I don't have time for this!_ Ichigo growled, _but I don't have the time to waste trying to convince him to simply tell me._ Ichigo lifted his hands up and away from his body to a safe distance; far enough to attack, close enough to defend. "Whatever, bastard. Let's just get this over with."

"You will not be fighting." The deep baritone that could only belong to Ichigo's zanpakuto interrupted. The tall, black clad male glided into the edge of the orange haired captain's vision, his sunglasses lowered enough to give Hichigo a pointed stare. "This matter is too important to waste on your rivalry, Shirosaki."

**"Feh. You're no fun."** The white haired male growled lowly before flopping unceremoniously back onto the rock.

The orange haired male's eyes remained on his carbon copy for a few seconds longer before he too lowered his hands and sat, turning his attention back to Zangetsu. "Well… I suppose this means that you already know why I'm here. Can you tell me what that man did?"

Zangetsu raised his head and angled it to the side, his voice grave. "Can you not see for yourself what chaos that man has caused?"

"Hm?" Ichigo followed his zanpakuto's line of sight, gasping lightly when he looked towards the city of his inner world. Wide, deep scars mangled the buildings, some of the worse off structures showing signs of crumbling. "Kami… My friends said that he only held my gaze for a second. Could he really have worked that fast?"

Hichigo's head shot up, his odd eyes narrowing. **"What are you talking about, King? He was in here for a couple of weeks!"**

"Weeks?" The captain faltered. "That can't be possible. The most time that I spent in here to equal one second in the real world is about five minutes."

**"Well, somehow that freak did it. It was weird, first there was one of him, and he kept looking around, as if expecting to see someone, and when he didn't, he started breaking down your foundations. After each day, two copies of himself would show up and help him in the destruction."**

Ichigo gaped at his inner hollow. "Why the hell didn't you stop him? Think, idiot! If he destroys my inner world, you'll go with it too!"

"He could not move." Zangetsu interrupted, knowing full and well that the males were seconds away from fighting once more. "As soon as that man showed up in your inner world, Shirosaki was strung up on a thick wooden cross. His limbs were tied down, and he was in a most vulnerable position; the rope that bound him started to slowly drain his energy so that he could not escape." He paused in that mysterious way of his before continuing. "I suspect that the man was initially looking for him with the intentions of bringing harm to him."

"Well then, why didn't he?" The orange haired male asked.

"For some reason, he could not see Shirosaki and I. I suspect that it is because we are first and foremost foreign entities within your inner world. We were not part of your inner world when you were born, thus, he could not see us."

"Then why was Hichigo affected by this guy's powers? Why was he stuck to that post that you spoke of?"

Zangetsu's wavy black hair flew about his head wildly as the winds picked up. "The answer is simple. While we weren't born to this world from the beginning, we are still affected by that which happens within it. If it weren't so, the rain would not disturb us."

Ichigo nodded, his brown eyes flicking back to the damaged city. "Will it… Will the city ever be the same?"

"I have faith that it will." Zangetsu started to glide away. "Parts have already begun to go back to their proper places." He waved a hand over the expanse of the city, "it will take time; most of this damage is not permanent." He half turned and stared at Ichigo, his lips set into a firm line. "That goes without saying; your inner world cannot take another attack like this. Ichigo, if you ever come across that red-eyed man again, you must kill him."

"Kill?" Ichigo paused, his brows furrowing. While he hated the bastard that took his sister with a passion, and fully intended on punishing him, he still paused at the thought of senselessly killing the wayward soul. "I'm a captain now, Zangetsu. I need clearance to completely destroy a soul. If I kill him without cleansing him first, his soul will not be able to be recycled for reincarnation. He will be dead for all eternity."

The zanpakuto said nothing more, merely gliding off towards the city without a goodbye to his shinigami.

A sharp cackle tore the captain's attention away from the brunette. **"That guy is meant for hell, King. If you cleanse him, that's just where he's going to end up going. You'll actually be doing him a favor by destroying him."**

"Hn…" Ichigo grunted, completely ignoring his inner hollow. "I'm leaving. I need to tell Urahara everything that happened here. Later, Hichigo."

0—Break—0

"What is it that most people of this world do when they want to have fun, imouto-chan?" Itachi asked, glancing back to the young woman who knelt on the bank of a small stream. She was peering into it with a fair amount of intensity, so much so that before he knew it, he had gravitated over and was also looking down into the freshwater with curiosity. He could clearly see a turtle stuck on its back, struggling to turn over, despite how dark it was. His eyes wandered back to the female, who was staring down with her brow pinched.

"I'm trying to see what that thing is. I just came to wash my face, but then I saw that moving thing in the water. It's too dark for me to see it clearly, but I think it's a turtle." Karin glanced up at the long haired male, her intelligent onyx hues locking onto the Uchiha's. "Can you see it?"

"Yes. It is in fact a turtle, imouto-chan." The Akatsuki member answered, watching as the teen's hands immediately shot into the water and lightly grabbed hold of the pathetic creature, gently turning it over before setting it back in the water to watch it scurry off.

"Thanks." She flashed the male a small grin before cupping some of the freshwater into her hands and splashing it on her face, repeating the process a couple of times before she wiped the excess water off on her sleeves. She turned back to the Uchiha, a ready smile on her face. "So what were you asking me earlier? I wasn't really listening because of the turtle…"

Itachi easily fell into step with the young woman. "I had asked what most people in this world for fun. I understand that living in the wild twenty-four hours a day could get a little dull for someone who is used to…more."

"Ah, don't worry about it." The female grinned, waving the comment off. "For one, there's nothing fun to do this late at night for someone as young as me, and secondly, I'm not going out into public with the four of you following me around and talking to me. I know that I'd eventually slip and end up talking to you; people would think that I'm crazy!"

The Uchiha smiled softly. "That may be true yet, however—." Crimson eyes widened as a sudden indescribably pain took over his body, forcing him to his knees. A strangled gasp escaped his clenched teeth, his hands shooting up to his chest as he tore at his coat in a vain attempt of getting it off.

"Itachi-nii? What's wrong?" Karin's voice sounded from far away. The spirit could tell that the female had put her hands on his shoulders, but the touch didn't register—the pain was too intense to focus on anything else.

The Kurosaki stared down at the spirit with worried eyes. _I need to go tell the others, but I can't really leave him alone, can I?_ She shook her head. _It won't be long. The others are just around the bend in the forest. I'll be able to get there and be back before anything bad happens._ She nodded to herself before straightening out of her crouch and shooting off into the woods.

It didn't take her too long to reach the clearing, but when she did, she immediately understood what was ailing Itachi. There, on the forest ground, lay Deidara, who was writhing in what had to be excruciating pain. He had managed to take off his coat whereas Itachi had not, and that was when the female caught sight of his abnormally long chain. It was eating itself at an alarming rate. Her eyes roved over the clearing, catching sight of Kisame, who was leaning against a rock as his chain links withered away. All she could see of Sasori was his legs, as his body lie on the opposite side of the log he was sitting on earlier in the night. It didn't take a genius to understand that he was going through the same thing.

_ So there's nothing that I can do but wait for the first encroachment to be over with._ She thought with a deep frown marring her features. She spun on her heel and dashed back into the forest, intent on being by Itachi's side once more. After all, she had promised to be with him until he passed on to the next life… which would be coming sooner rather than later if the chains continued eating themselves at the alarming rate that they were. _Itachi-nii._ She thought. _Please hold on!_

0—Nine/End—0

A/N: Yo! Thanx for reading!


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